Navy deactivates 71 illegal refineries, recovers 411,000 litres stolen crude
8 Aug 2025
The Nigerian Navy says its Special Forces deactivated no fewer than 70 illegal refinery sites and confiscated over 400,000 liters of stolen crude oil across the Niger Delta in July 2025 alone.
This is contained in a monthly operational update issued on Friday by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Ayiwuyor Adams-Aliu, in Abuja.
Adams-Aliu said the intensified operations under the ongoing Operation Delta Sanity were part of its effort to curb crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
According to him, the crackdown led to the discovery and destruction of 120 dugout pits, illegal storage facilities, and various equipment used in crude oil theft and illegal refining across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States.
He said the Navy denied oil thieves access to about 411,400 litres of crude oil, 87,825 litres of illegally-refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 72,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), and 21,900 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Providing key highlights of the operation, Naval spokesman said the troops had in July 4, discovered and deactivated illegal refining sites with over 66,000 litres of suspected crude and 40,000 litres of refined AGO at Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni in Rivers.
He added that the operations conducted on July 14 led to multiple arrests and seizures in Akwa Ibom and Delta States, involving smuggling attempts to Cameroon and the uncovering of underground reservoirs containing thousands of litres of stolen crude oil.
According to him, two large-scale illegal operations were dismantled on July 22 and 23, in Biseni Community, Bayelsa, with over 450,000 litres of crude oil recovered.